Here is part 2 of the “Meet Saint Vincent” series — a look into the rich history and roots of the Saint Vincent community.  The IMF is built on the strong foundation of Saint Vincent Archabbey and Seminary, and we’re honored to be part of this community. We are excited to share its story with you.

Anyone familiar with Saint Vincent has very likely heard about Boniface Wimmer. They might have heard about his motto, “Forward, always forward, everywhere forward,” or that he was a Bavarian monk who travelled to the United States in 1846 to found the first Benedictine monastery in America. However, there is much more to Boniface Wimmer’s life and the founding of Saint Vincent Archabbey that very few people know about.

Wimmer was born in Thalmassing, Bavaria on January 14, 1809, and given the name Sebastian. He was ordained a priest in 1831 after receiving a dispensation since he was not yet of canonical age for the priesthood. The next year, Wimmer entered the Benedictine monastery of Metten Abbey, where he was given the name Boniface. After a report of the new world by Dr. Salzbacher appeared in 1845 speaking frequently about the need for German priests in the new world and the hope that Benedictines would also settle there, a flame was instilled in Fr. Boniface’s heart with the desire to fulfil these needs of the Americas.

Wimmer set to work on making his mission to America a reality, and in just one year he arrived in New York with his companions on September 16, 1846. In a meeting with Bishop O’Connor of Pittsburgh, it was decided that Wimmer should establish his monastery at Saint Vincent Parish instead of Carrolltown, where he had originally intended it to be. Following this meeting, Fr. Boniface and his companions arrived at Saint Vincent on October 19, and Wimmer was made the parish priest five days later.

Though training was begun for some of the clerical students on the path to priesthood, it wasn’t until the fall of 1848 that the monastery building began to be constructed. Though Wimmer had at first seen Saint Vincent as an ideal place to build the monastery, he struggled with misgivings for a year, causing him to doubt whether Saint Vincent was the best place for the Benedictine settlement. However, with the help of Bishop O’Connor and the main property owners of the colony, Fr. Boniface was persuaded that Saint Vincent was the ideal place to set up the Benedictine monastery.

Over the next few years, the Benedictines at Saint Vincent grew, and five more Benedictine centers were established throughout Western PA. With this expansion came the hope that Saint Vincent would be elevated to an abbatial status. Following two letters Wimmer had sent to Rome requesting that Saint Vincent become an Abbey, on December 9, 1853, the nuncio visited Saint Vincent unexpectedly, and following this Wimmer asked him for assistance in raising Saint Vincent to abbatial status. However, Bishop O’Connor had reservations about elevating Saint Vincent so soon after its establishment, which he shared with the nuncio, further delaying the decision in Rome.

Finally, to settle the question of Saint Vincent’s elevation once and for all, Boniface Wimmer travelled to Rome in 1855. In June of that year he met with Pope Pius IX, and though Wimmer believed the audience not as satisfactory as he wished, the question of Saint Vincent’s elevation to abbey was presented to the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith the next month. Following a customary ten-day deliberation period where Wimmer visited the cardinals and answered their questions, the Propaganda decreed that Saint Vincent be elevated to an Abbey. After approval from the pope, Saint Vincent was officially made an Abbey on September 17, 1855. On December 6, Wimmer arrived back in Latrobe, where he was greeted with joy from his parishioners and the monks of the newly elevated abbey, all celebrating his return and success in Rome.

Boniface Wimmer remained as the abbot of Saint Vincent until his death in 1887. During that time, he helped to establish four more abbeys across the United States. At the time of his death, there were over 400 brothers and priests living out their Benedictine calling in the five American abbeys established by Boniface Wimmer. In 1883, Pope Leo XIII elevated him to the level of Archabbot, making Saint Vincent the head of the benedictine monasteries in America. Following his death, Wimmer was succeeded by Fr. Andrew Hintenach, the second Archabbot of Saint Vincent.